Category Archives: Uncategorized

Cambridge Labour select their former mayoral candidate Cllr Anna Smith (Lab – Coleridge) as Cambridge City Council’s representative on the Combined Authority Board You can see the meeting papers for: …which are on Wed 04 June 2025. (Get your public questions in for the latter by the end of the week!) “Who will be theContinue reading “First meeting papers for the Combined Authority with Mayor Paul Bristow”

The former Assistant Chief Executive of Cambridge City Council, Andrew Limb, authored a recent study for Cambridge Ahead having spent several decades both in the civil service (where he was burdened with me in my 20s in the bank of desks opposite – poor fellow) and in local government following the 2010 General Election TL/DR?Continue reading “On Cambridge’s inequalities vs innovation”

In an utterly predictable yet highly-depressing move, the owner who has (for what ever reason) let a gem of a civic building in Cambridge become derelict and run down, is appealing to ministers to get Cambridge City Council’s planning refusal overturned. TL/DR: How can you contest the appeal? Go to the planning portal here, clickContinue reading “Developer appeals to ministers to try and get Art Deco cinema demolished”

Anna Minton’s piece on gentrification is a warning for central government and the affluent business sectors when it comes to building new towns and expanding existing ones I’m not going to let the haunting question ‘What’s a youth club?’ by one of a trio of children put to me at a recent primary school summerContinue reading ““Children are the canary in the coalmine for what is happening to our cities””

How will Cambridge’s sci-tech community and affluent business interests respond to this very visible sign of discontent outside The Guildhall? Image – from the Trials of Democracy project in Cambridge The saying goes that businesses need economic stability and predictability if they are to invest in a manner that results in jobs and growth –Continue reading “Divisions in unequal and divided Cambridge take a new, menacing turn”

The deputy civic mayor for the previous municipal year was elevated to the mayoralty earlier today. She follows in the footsteps of previous Romsey Labour councillors Bill Briggs and Labour MP Barry Gardiner – whose daughter Cllr Beth Gardiner-Smith (also of Romsey) seconded her nomination You can listen to the new Mayor of Cambridge’s speechContinue reading “New Mayor of Cambridge Dinah Pounds’ music and arts vision for our city”

We had a hint that two new multistorey car parks were being planned, but I didn’t assume the designers would go for a particularly hideous design for a facility that will become obsolete within a decade of completion. TL/DR? Have your say here – closing date 29 May 2025 I first wrote about this backContinue reading “RailPen follows Kett House developers with ugly monstrosity”

While the big institutions decamp to Leeds for the UK property corporate fest, some new things are bubbling away closer to the grassroots of our city You only have to look at the Combined Authority’s LinkedIn feed to see who is saying what about our county. In the meantime, there are a few things bubblingContinue reading “Together Culture and The Cambridge Room creating spaces for community conversations”

The think tank had to rebrand after TeamNigel hijacked their name for the Brexit chief’s latest party political incarnation. To celebrate that rebrand, they have published a series of short pieces on what needs to be done. What’s new? And what have we heard before? You can read the report here TL/DR? The problem isContinue reading “Re:State’s proposals to reform the state”

A new leader of Cambridge City Council, a county council with a Liberal Democrat majority, and a new order at the Combined Authority Image – Cambridge Playlaws, when young people spoke out about inequalities in our city You can read the meeting papers for the following: The Combined Authority won’t meet until early June InContinue reading “New councils meet at the start of the municipal year”